wanderlustfandomcom-20200213-history
Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi
Nahuel huapi 3.jpg Nahuel huapi 2.jpg Nahuel huapi 1.jpg Nahuel huapi 7.jpg Nahuel huapi 6.jpg Nahuel huapi 5.jpg Nahuel huapi 4.jpg Introduction Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi is the oldest Argentine national park, covers up the land around Lago Nahuel Huapi in the foothills of the Patagonian Andes. It was established in 1934, but the nucleus of the park is the land donated to the federal government by Perito Moreno in 1903. The park covers approximately 7050 sq km and is located in the southwest of the Neuquén and northwest of the Río Negro provinces bordering with Chile. The largest city within the park and a base for tourism is the city of San Carlos de Bariloche. Villa la Angostura is another lakeside resort also within the boundaries of the park. The park is famous for its rich wildlife and it covers many biotopes, due to altitudes ranging from 700 to 3000 metres and precipitation ranging from rain forests with 4000 mm per annum on the western slopes to steppes with less than 300 mm per annum on the eastern side. The alerce or Patagonian cypress is a slow-growing conifer seen in the park. Other flora seen in the park include arrayanes, coihues, ferns, the caña colihue reeds, lengas, ñires, amancayes and arvejillas. The llao llao fungus is seen as beautiful irregular growths on the trees and is a symbol of the area and the name of the Hotel Llao Llao, a famous resort. Animals include river otters, huemuls, pudus, guanacos, maras, parakeets and condors. There are many lakes in the park, including Nahuel Huapi Lake, Mascardi Lake, Gutiérrez Lake, Traful Lake, Moreno Lake, and Guillelmo Lake. The area is known as the Argentine Lake District. Nahuel Huapi Lake contains several islands, including Isla Huemul, which hosted the Huemul Project, the Argentinian secret research project on nuclear fusion in 1949-1952. The Quetrihué Peninsula in the north of the lake has been set aside as a separate national park, Los Arrayanes National Park. Cerro Catedral is a 2388 metre high peak within the Park and an important ski resort. Cerro Tronador, on the Chilean border, is the highest mountain in the park at 3491 metres. Bordering the National Park to the north is the Parque Nacional Lanín. Location 41°00′S 71°30′W Northern Andes, Northwest of Río Negro and Southwest of Neuquén Provinces. Park Fees There are no park fees collected at the moment. Weather The size of the National Park would lend to differences in climate. The Western steppes get more than 10 times the rainfall as the Eastern part of the park. San Carlos de Bariloche has a cool temperate climate with dry, windy summers and rainy winters. Getting There & Away Most tourists get in and out of the park via San Carlos de Bariloche. San Carlos de Bariloche is served by an airport 15 kilometres East of town, which has regular flights from Buenos Aires on Aerolíneas Argentinas, Austral Líneas Aéreas, LADE and LAN Argentina. LAN Chile also flies from Santiago and Puerto Montt, while Sky Airline flies from Santiago. Austral Líneas Aéreas also flies to El Calafate, Trelew and Esquel. The bus station is 3 kilometres East of town, and destinations include Buenos Aires (19 - 22 hours), Puerto Madryn (13 - 14 hours), Río Gallegos and El Calafate. Although Río Gallegos and El Calafate involve a change in buses and overnight at Comodoro Rivadavia. Tren Patagónico departs for Viedma on the Atlantic coast. Buses link Villa la Angostura to San Carlos de Bariloche, taking about an hour to cover the route.The journey from Villa la Angostura to San Martín de los Andes takes about 3 hours, even though it covers about the same distance, since the roads are unpaved at that point. Accommodation Most accommodation options are clustered near San Carlos de Bariloche, with Edelweiss and Cristal in town, and El Casco Art Hotel, Tunquelén and Llao Llao to the West of San Carlos de Bariloche along Avenida Ezequiel Bustillo. Hostería Isla Victoria is located on Isla Victoria on Lago Nahuel Huapi. Villa la Angostura also offers resort-style accommodation options. Category:Argentina Category:Patagonia Category:National Parks Category:Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi Category:Neuquén Category:Río Negro Category:Argentine Lake District